The 2022 Sonic the Hedgehog game named Sonic Frontiers has been fully revealed at The Game Awards 2021, offering fans their first full look at the all-new Sonic adventure which appears to have some Zelda: Breath of the Wild inspirations. The previously untitled game was first announced earlier this year with a Sonic teaser trailer, which offered a glimpse at the hedgehog at top speed alongside a 2022 release window, but gave little else away. The tease has had long-time Sonic fans excited ever since, with their anticipation finally paying off.

To say Sonic has had it rough within the last few years would be an understatement. The most recently released game, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, the highly-anticipated remaster of the 2010's ever-popular Sonic Colors, aimed to enhance the game for modern platforms with improved lighting, 60 FPS support, and more. Unfortunately, the game launched in a poor state, riddled with glitches that were either game-breaking or in the case of the Sonic epileptic seizure bugs, capable of causing real harm to players. These glitches were later patched out, but the game's problems, which were shared widely across social media, arguably damaged its reputation, with Sonic Colors: Ultimate going down as one of Sonic's more controversial releases in recent years.

Revealed during The Game Awards 2021, the next installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog series, Sonic Frontiers, was showcased with a full trailer. The video gives a taste of what players can expect when the game launches sometime during the 2022 holidays, showing off impressive visuals and style. Sonic Frontiers' announcement takes players through a tour of the game world, revealing stunning backdrops and lush environments, ending with the tease of threat leaning into the blue hedgehog. Thanks to its muted colors and expansive landscapes, the game already seems similar to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though its gameplay is undoubtedly going to be much different.


The next outing for Sonic and his friends shows Sega's continued interest in the long-standing franchise, despite mixed reception to Sonic Colors: Ultimate. After celebrating Sonic's 30th anniversary this year, the company is seemingly doubling down on new games, with the upcoming 2022 title releasing not too long after the Colors remaster. Sonic has already appeared in various other games throughout 2021, available within both Monster Hunter Rise's DLC and as a character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania.

Between the reveal of Sonic Frontiers and the trailer for the sequel to the Sonic The Hedgehog movie, The Game Awards 2021 has been very eventful for the blue blur. The quality of Sonic Frontiers of course remains to be seen, given Sonic's past history, but what was shown does show some promise, especially with it being the first open-world game for the series, and still able to reintroduce older Sonic features. This is new territory for the blue blur, and gives hope that this will be truly a new era for Sonic. With the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie and Sonic Frontiers releasing in 2022, it's going to be a busy year for Sonic.